By Brian Riley
Co-News-Editor
Students who have engaged in research projects will have the chance to showcase them at the annual Post and Beyond symposium on April 20. The symposium will take place during common hour in the Tilles Center atrium and is open to students who have conducted some form of research, internship or experiential learning.
Glynis Pereyra, assistant dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, estimated that participation has been evenly balanced between undergraduate and graduate students in past years. However, science was a strong theme at last year’s symposium. She suggested that this is a result of the poster board format being very familiar to science professors. As a result, the professors encourage their students to participate.
This was the case with mentor Azad Gucwa, assistant professor of biomedical sciences, and Sabino Curcio, a clinical lavatory science graduate student, who is currently the lone participant. According to Pereyra, this is not unusual at this time, due to the fact that most students apply closer to the deadline, which is March 9 this year.
Curcio is deriving the content for his poster from his thesis experiment. He is concerned with how diseases, other than Lyme disease, can be transmitted from a tic bite, specifically babesia microti. He conducted an experiment in which he took samples of people with Lyme disease and tested them for the lesser known parasite. He ultimately plans on possibly developing an FDA approved screen for babesia microti.
Although Curcio is going to take his research to the next level, the university could serve as a good practice run.“In some cases we are giving students a taste of what it’s like to present a poster at a professional conference, especially in the case of the research posters,” Pereyra said.
Students can apply to showcase their work at Post and Beyond by going to http://tinyurl.com/postandbeyond2016. Along with basic information, a 250-word abstract that describes the student’s work is required. A five-person faculty committee will review it and make suggestions for the student. In addition, a mentor is required as well who will most likely be a faculty member in the area of study that the student is intending to present about.
On March 16, Pereyra will be holding a workshop for participating students. They will learn how to make a poster, such as dimensions, fonts and how to get it printed for free through the school.
This is the fifth Post and Beyond event at LIU. Last year, there were over 40 participants. The goal this year is to top that with 50 participants, according to Pereyra.
Be First to Comment